by Penny Angeles-Tan | Dec 16, 2009 | Ponderings
If I haven’t said this often enough let me say it again — I HATE blanket statements.
Someone I know recently said “jokingly” that “DSLRs are for douchebags“. By inference, that means anyone who owns or wants a DSLR camera IS a douchebag.
Let’s do the math:
- DSLRs are for douchebags.
- Professional photographers use DSLR cameras.
- Therefore, professional photographers are douchebags.
Does that mean that because I WANT to own a DSLR, by inference that makes ME a douchebag? Or soon to be a douchebag? I’m using a borrowed one now, does that make me a part-time douchebag?
I can’t help but wonder what kind of personal trauma he went through for him to even jokingly say that. I mean, a camera is a camera whether it is an idiot cam (aka point and click) or an SLR, right? And whatever kind of camera a person owns should not in any way affect a person’s personality, right? Also, it should not follow that only a certain personality type would purchase a particular kind of camera, right? So, why persecute a person for owning or wanting a DSLR by calling him a douchebag?
If a person is unpleasant, to begin with, owning or not owning a DSLR has nothing to do with it.
Some camera facts …
DSLR camera
In general, DSLR cameras take better pictures than point and clicks when photos are taken by the same person. It is not fair to compare outputs if a different person took a pic on one camera and someone else on another.
However, having a DSLR does not guarantee a good photo. The quality of the shot still depends on the skill of the person who took it … and at times, we get lucky and are able to capture that perfect shot. No matter how good your camera is if you do not know how to compose a shot (factoring in lighting, image framing, effect, etc.) it would not matter what kind of camera you use.
And then there’s good old photoshop.
That telephoto lens, that periscope-like flash, those filters, the hood … they don’t mean a thing. They’re just fancy attachments. Give the guy a point and click and if he can take a good picture with that then give him the DSLR and see if he can take a good pic with that, too. Given time to learn the camera, I’m sure he could.
So, seriously … are DSLRs for douchebags? Or are there just douchebags out there whether they have a camera or not? DSLR or otherwise?
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Jun 5, 2008 | Ponderings
I’ve been teaching here at CSB for 3 weeks now and I still feel like a squatter. Can’t help it. I belong to the SDA campus and while we have a faculty lounge there, my classes are all on the Taft campus and, as far as I know, there is no faculty lounge here. Therefore, to surf comfortably, I end up spending a LOT of time at the library.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
It’s not so bad. The faculty corner is right beside the graphic novels and I just borrowed book 1 of The Complete Calvin And Hobbes. I have a month to return it, too. 🙂 I can borrow up to 10 books in 1 month.
I teach 2 classes. One at 8:00 am and the other at 4:20 pm. The gap between my classes is big and normally I would go to my Uncle Gerry’s place in Malate to kill time. Unfortunately, the internet connection there is currently down so I won’t be productive there. At least here at the library, it is cool and quiet and well lit. The only drawback is I can’t eat or drink while working. 🙂
On the upside, I got a lot of work done today. I’ve graded quizzes, learning journals, and seatwork of my 54 students. I’m working on homework now. Grading the homework is subjective because I gave them movie maker assignments, so it really depends on their creativity.
My students seem to be ok with the way I teach. At least, there have been no complaints so far.
I conduct a paperless class so all their notes are online. I don’t know where they save it but I taught them how to access and use GoogleDocs. It is my hope that they actually use it. Does Yahoo have a similar feature I don’t know about?
I gave a seminar yesterday on Project Management. Section FID1 was there, all of them, of which I am gratified. FFM1 was missing. I don’t think I saw a single one of them there. As a matter of fact, there was no attendance from that class given to me, and every other section of BASICOM and some upperclassmen were there. I guess I will find out later during their class if anyone was there but just forgot to give me their attendance.
The library is cool. I get to plug my laptop here and everything. Drawbacks, though are:
- I can’t eat or drink here.
- If I need to pee I have to pack up all my stuff and then unpack everything when I come back.
- chairs are not padded so it is very possible my butt is getting flatter by the minute. 😀
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Oct 18, 2005 | Ponderings
Everytime I go to and from my kalimasada class in makati, I ride the train (MRT) and I’ve noticed that there is this spot that always seems to slow me down — literally!
I walk fast. Anyone who knows me and has walked with me knows that I walk fast. I walk like I am in a hurry to get somewhere, which I normally am. Not because I am late, but because I don’t like wasting time.
Right before heading up the escalator at GMA station, about 2 to 3 steps before, I always seem to slow down. You know what it feels like when you step on bubblegum? Well, that sensation but imagine your entire body getting stuck. For some reason every time I hit that spot, what would take me less than a second to pass would take me 3 seconds. It’s so weird. I thought it was just a fluke but it happens to me each and every time I pass THAT SPOT. If I walk to the left or right of it, I miss the flux.
The anomaly is such a small area … about a square foot, is all. But it is strong. But … do I sense it because it is strong? Or is it because my sensitivity has been heightened by kalimasada? Its hard to say. All I know is — I always go slow-mo over that one spot.
There is another anomaly at the steps on the northbound side of the station. For some reason, when you climb the steps that go from the 2nd level to the 3rd, it always feels like gravity is pulling you down
harder. The height of the steps is standard but on those steps … it is so difficult to lift your foot up to the next step. Again, I thought it was just me, until my mom commented on the same thing, so at least I know now that I am not imagining things. Since then, my mom and I would always take the elevator up.
Have you had a similar experience? Any gravitational anomalies in your area?
by Penny Angeles-Tan | Mar 1, 2005 | Ponderings
In psych books I’ve read in the past, they say that ordinarily people dream in monochrome — black and white, or sepia. They say that when a person dreams in color that means that the person is possibly intuitive, or artistic … or maybe having an epiphany. I don’t know.
What bugs me is when I get colored dreams that keep repeating night after night. Have you ever had a dream that not only had color but had texture, taste, etc. Ever have a dream where all of your senses are involved? Those, I think are the weirdest ones. They are so real that you can taste the food you ate, feel the hand of the person who shook yours in the dream, smell perfume of a person who passed by you, etc.
I always wake from those dreams confused, tired, and ready to go back to sleep … and yet hoping that this time I actually get some sleep. Sometimes when I do go back, the dream continues where it left off. Other times I am able to rewind the dream.
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